Wellcome Trust Condair HP Humidifier

Condair has recently supplied and installed three Condair HP high pressure spray humidification systems at Wellcome Trust’s headquarters in London’s Euston Road. The humidifiers are maintaining the humidity in the building’s atrium for the health, comfort and well-being of staff and visitors.

Wellcome Trust is one of the world’s largest independent charitable trusts, providing funding of around £700M annually to support research into improvements in human and animal health, and the medical humanities. The Gibbs Building is the organisation’s impressive HQ, opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 2004.

Located in three AHUs in the basement and ninth floor of the building, the new Condair HP humidifiers provide low energy, hygienic humidity by introducing finely atomised sprays of RO water directly into the airstream. These rapidly evaporate to moisten the air and give the desired 50%RH in the atrium. In doing so, staff and visitors to the Gibbs Building experience an environment that is ideal for human comfort, which is in keeping with Wellcome Trust’s own aims. Mark Scally, Building Services Manager at Wellcome Trust, confirms that the Condair HP system “is running well and conditions in the atrium are being maintained”.

The installed Condair HP humidifiers release up to 425 litres per hour at 70bar from manifolds of high pressure nozzles. The micro-fine sprays are spread uniformly across the AHU, with multi-step arrays providing close control over output. Water is filtered by reverse osmosis and exposed to UV light, ensuring hygienic operation, and the system regularly flushed to prevent the possibility of stagnation. The entire system is made in stainless steel, including the oil-free high pressure water pumps, which further contribute to low maintenance and hygiene.

Condair has a long and successful history with the Wellcome Trust, having supplied the previous spray humidifier back in 2003, during the Gibbs Building’s initial development, which the new Condair HP is now replacing. Using cold water humidification rather than traditional steam humidifiers significantly reduces energy consumption as well as offering the benefit of low cost evaporative cooling to an airstream.

Alongside supplying the humidification systems at the Gibbs Building, Condair, in conjunction with Optimum Group Services, also maintains them under a Condair planned maintenance agreement. This ensures the humidifiers operate efficiently and hygienically for their maximum service lifetime and that the highest level of technical knowledge is delivered on-site direct from the manufacturer.

The Gibbs Building features impressive works of art in the foyer and a stunning glass and steel sculpture called Bleigiessen, designed by Thomas Heatherwick. It stretches the full height of the atrium and is overlooked by the surrounding walkways of each floor. The adjacent building, which is also humidified by Condair, houses the extraordinary Wellcome Collection, including the Wellcome Library, a unique mix of galleries, exhibitions, events and meeting, reading and eating places, which is open to visitors who are curious to explore connections between medicine, art and culture.

The Condair Group is the world’s leading specialist in humidification and evaporative cooling, with energy efficient, hygienic and innovative technologies for commercial, industrial and heritage applications.